Colleen Toland Necklace [SOLD]

This romantic, vintage looking piece was made in the late 1990‘s by New Zealand born designer Colleen Toland. It was purchased for Rue by her sixth husband. The pendant-style hanging section in the middle is 8 1/2” long and 2” thick at its widest; the whole necklace laid out measures 3 and a half feet long. It is made of beads and tiny metal flowers, some hard stones and synthetic petals, and they are all woven together using an intricate wire supporting chain. This piece comes with an original photograph of Rue wearing it in a green room with Rosie O’Donnell, and a clip from a DVD shot that night with Rue wearing it onstage during a performance.

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Rue owned several of these 6-foot long strands of butterflies. She had them in three different sizes, too, and this one is the smallest, with each of the 12 butterflies measuring approximately 4″ across. We don’t know exactly what these little wonders are made out of, but the wings have the same feel and look as if they were from real butterflies. Rue used to hang these in her houseplants, and you can see a strand or two in the tall plant next to her in the photo posted. Rue’s strand of butterflies come with a print of the photo shown and a Certificate of Authenticity from Estate of Rue.

This is another piece from that archeologist/jewelry designer that Rue loved to collect. Do you see those double strands of black beads? Well, a few of them have become single stands along the top of the necklace. We found 6 of the beads, which we will include, but the necklace doesn’t seem to be falling apart or need to be restrung. Perhaps it was just shut in the lid of Rue’s jewelry case or something like that. Anyway, this necklace is 24″ long and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from Estate of Rue.

Rue could be a glamour girl when she wanted to be, and when she wanted to be a glamour girl she would drink her tea or coffee out of this golden cup and saucer. Do you have certain pieces you use depending upon your mood? Well, Rue did. This piece measures 4.75″ across from the edge of handle to the opposite side cup lip, and 2.25″ high. The matching saucer is 5.75″ across. Rue’s golden cup and saucer comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from Estate of Rue.

As you may already know, Rue had this little faux-alligator travel case that she filled with loose gemstones – she often purchased stones and then had them made into one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces (and just for the record, how fabulous is that?). Anyway, this particular rock is either a citrine or – the rarest Imperial topaz. If it is the former, it is known as the “Lucky Merchants Stone” and is to be put in a cash register for amazing results, and is used for healing problems with digestion, diabetes, constipation and depression – none of which Rue had, so maybe it worked. If it is the later, then we are letting a stone worth a fortune go for next to nothing (which, believe it or not, Rue would love!). The boulder is over half and inch long and about 3/8″ wide. Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from Estate of Rue.

Rue’s amethyst and bead necklace has a very substantial, expensive feeling to it. Although it is not marked, we suspect it was made by that jewelry designer Rue adored, the one whose name we do not know, but we find her initials – “A.R.” – all over pieces in Rue’s jewelry collection. This necklace has 16 diamond faceted rocks of amethyst that measure almost a half an inch across each, and the 32 smaller diamond shaped stones that bookend the larger ones may be amethyst too! The whole necklace is 32-inches long and it comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from Estate of Rue.

I think I’ve told you this story before: I remember when Rue told me about her battle with breast cancer. It was a beautiful spring evening and we were riding in the back of a limousine through Central Park. She told me about the fear when she was first told the news, how she almost fainted, and about the horrors of treatment. However, the story had a happy ending because Rue McClanahan beat breast cancer and was alive to sit in the back of that limo with me and enjoy the gorgeous spring foliage in Central Park. Rue gave a lot of herself to support breast cancer awareness, early diagnosis, and support for the victims of the wretched disease. This is a mini-pin that Rue used to wear on her lapel. The pink ribbon was made by Avon and it measures one inch long. Rue’s breast cancer awareness pin comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from Estate of Rue.